Belle’s Kitchen bets on breaking some rules — quick-service style

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This article was published 20/09/2024 (444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The family behind Trans Canada Brewing Co. and Empty Cup Collective has another Winnipeg restaurant en route — and bandits are involved.

“We’re breaking some of the traditional restaurant rules,” said Ann Topp, senior vice-president of business development at Princess Auto Ltd.

Princess Auto joins Empty Cup Collective and Trans Canada Brewing under parent company H. Tallman International.

Belle’s Kitchen and Music Hall is the group’s newest addition.

Crews are working on Belle’s roughly 7,500-square-foot space at 1212 Nairn Ave. Pre-COVID-19 pandemic, the building was home to a popular Tony Roma’s.

Unlike the former tenant, customers at Belle’s will not see waitstaff — they’ll order and pick up their own Southern-style food at a counter, quick-service style.

Patrons can walk a few steps further and grab a drink at the bar; elsewhere, Manitoba musicians will perform on a stage. There will be seating for 100 people and “a whole bunch of social space,” Topp said.

Opting for quick-service dining instead of full-service — which includes hosts and waiters — keeps costs down, Topp noted, adding it’ll help with menu pricing.

“We’re trying to position ourselves as a value player in the market knowing that it is so needed today.”

Across Canada, restaurant sales are just 75 per cent of what they were pre-pandemic, according to Manitoba’s restaurant association.

Topp expects Belle’s to open in late November. Meantime, the company will tease its restaurant by incorporating Belle Starr, a notorious American Old West outlaw, in its promotions.

The Winnipeg eatery is loosely inspired by the bandit queen, Topp said. Starr broke the rules and Belle’s doesn’t look like a traditional restaurant — the eatery is taking on a persona.

Diversifying within restaurants, however, is becoming more of a trend, said Shaun Jeffrey, CEO of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association.

“It’s key in being successful in this day and age,” he stated. “(There’s) higher costs and obviously lower margins in our industry — it’s really … (about) capitalizing on the multifaceted levels of service that you can provide.”

Belle’s counter service, bar and music is “great” for attracting a range of people, Jeffrey added.

He’s noticed more restaurants offering catering and so-called ghost kitchens (where other businesses use the facility to produce food).

The heightened cost of living hasn’t drawn people more to fast-food joints, Jeffrey said. The price gap between those and full-service restaurants has shrunk; young people in particular seem to be increasingly opting for dine-in eateries, Jeffrey said.

Several prominent Winnipeg dine-in restaurants, such as Preservation Hall and Fionn MacCool’s on Regent Avenue, have closed in recent months. Belle’s opening is a morale boost, Jeffrey said.

“We look at Belle’s as an investment in our community and an investment in Winnipeg,” Topp relayed.

A menu and pricing aren’t yet nailed down, but the space will have a Texas-style feel, she said.

Once operational, Belle’s will run independently from other companies under the H. Tallman International umbrella. Leaders are looking to hire 20 staff; full-time employment and benefits will be offered, Topp said.

Belle’s is taking resumés, and updating its information, at its website, belleskitchenandmusichall.com.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com